Coin-controlled towel dispenser



April 29, 1924. 1,492,185

A. M. WHEELER COIN CONTROLLED TOWEL DISPENSER Filed April 25', 1923 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Elwucntoz AJIberi/lliflieeler April 29, 1 924. v1,492,185

' A. M. WHEELER I COIN CONTROLLED TOWEL DISPENSER 1 I'll MIN a mum 1 60cAlbrzi/ll. Wee/er Patented Apr. 29, 1924.

514333;! 1!. WHEELER, CATLETTSIBUBG, KENTUCKY.

COIN-CONTROLLED TOWEL DISPENSER.

Application filed April 25, 1928. 'Serial No. 884,578.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT M. Waenmn,

' Ia citizen of the United States, residing at insertion of a coin of agiven denomination till therein.

It is an object of the invention to provide a roller towel cabinethaving a carryln roll for the clean towel and a windin rol for theusedportion of the towel, with interposed coin controlled actuatingmechanism for permitting a section of clean towel of a given length tobe withdrawn from the towel carrying roll upon the deposition of a coinof a given denomination in the apparatus. v

With the foregoing conception in mind the invention preferably comprisesa towel cabinet wherein the clean sections are successively advancedafter the deposit of each coin in the apparatus and the used or soiledsections are continuously wound on the winding roll of the mechanism.

In carrying out this invention 1 provide improved mechanism forreleasing the towel when a coin has been inserted in the mechanism andfor simultaneously operating the winding roll to take up a previouslyused section of the towel. Said mechanism comprises simple andinexpensive means actuated by a lever engaging the coin, and serving tooperate means adapted to directly cooplerate with the feeding section ofa towel w ereby the towel is directly engaged after a given length hasbeen withdrawn until a second coin is inserted in the machine.

My invention further comprises improved and simple means foraccomplishing the above ends as will be more fully hereinafter set forthin the specification and drawings.

In the drawings Figure 1. represents a cross sectional view takentransversely through the apparatus.

Figure 2 discloses a longitudinal section;

Figure 3 illustrates a detail view; and

Figure 4 is a front view.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings wherein like referencecharacters indicate corres nding parts, the numeral 1 designates a cainet which is adapted to be suspended on a wall or the like and whichhas a towel exit 2 on its front face and a similar slot 3 through whicha used portion of the towel enters the cabinet. The towel is adapted toass from the cabinet through the slot 2 an dro down along the front ofthe slot a suflicient distance to provide a towel section suitable forthe desired purposes, the used sections of the towel constantly feedingback to the cabinet. 4 is a coin receiver into which a coin of asuitable denomination is inserted when an unused section of the towel isto be fed, a lever 5 being operated after the insertion of said com.

The mechanism for feeding the unused sections of the towel and forwinding the used sections thereof, comprises a feeding roller 6journaled in the casing 1 near its up or end and cooperating with awinding r01 er 7 by means of the meshing gears 8. The roller 7 isjournaled in the housing and is parallel with the roller 6. The towel iswound upon the roller 6 and a roll with the towel then placed in thecabinet or housing 1. The towel is then .drum 9, over the feeding 1:0 110 through the slot 2, thence back through the slot 3 between the roll10 and the roller 11 and into the receptacle or casing 1, from where isit attached to the winding roller 7 so that when the roller 6 isoperated to unwind an unused section of the towel the roller 7 islikewise rotated in an opposite direction to wind the used sections ofsaid towel. During the beginning of an operation when a new roll oftowel has been inserted in the apparatus, some section of the used towelwill accumulate in the casing 1 because of the fact that the roller 7 isof substantially less diameter than the roller 6 with its containedtowel, but as the roller 6 unwinds to feed the towel, its diameter willdecrease, while the diameter of the towel on the roller 7 willcorrespondingly increase, whereby at the time an entire strip of towelhas been used, it will be entirely wound on the roll 7 Referring now tothe feeding mechanism for the towel whereby sections of agiven lengthare intermittently advanced, said mechanism comprises coin control meansas clearly shown in Figure 1. Said means includes a coin slot 12 havingtherein an abutment 13 constituting a stop for the coin assed around arec ' when fed to said slot. When a coin has been the plunger 15 engagesthe coin and forces the same downwardly out of contact withthe abutment13. This downward movement is transmitted to a reciprocating rod 16pivoted at its end to a towel engaging latch 17, which latch is mountedon the shaft 18. The shaft 18 extends across the casing 1 beingjournaled in a bearing 19 at one end, While a bearing 20 is provided atthe opposite end thereof, said shaft being formed with a collar 21having interposed between said collar and the bearing a spring 22,serving to keep the shaft properly positioned for reasons which willhereinafter appear. The latch 17 is secured to the shaft intermediateits ends so that the pointed locking end 23 thereof directly engages thetowel feeding around the drum 9. When the lever 5 is shifted asdescribed, this causes the'latch 17 to be raised to its elevatedposition as shown in full lines in Figure 2 and out of contact with thetowel. The towel may then be pulled forwardly manually by the user,causing an unwinding of the roller 6 and a rotation of the drum 9 in thedirection of the arrow. This movement of the towel continues until thelatch 17 is shifted to engage the towel and arrest its movement bymechanism to be now described. I

a The drum 9 at one side thereof carries an outstanding trip 25 which isadapted to rotate with said drum and which trip engages and cooperatessuccessively with the elel-l ments 26 and 27 fixed to the shaft 18 andspaced from one another; The drum and trip mechanism is so constructedthat the drum will rotate twice before the latch is shifted to itsdotted line position, to engage the towel and prevent movement thereof.If the coin has just been inserted inthe slot and the latch raised thetowel is withdrawn by the operator rotating the drum until the trip 25engages the first element 27 connected with the shaft 18, which shiftsthe latch d to the full line position X, but at which position, ofcourse, it does not so engage the towel as to lock it against forwardmovement. The drum 9 continues to rotate and the trip 25 on its secondrevolution engages the element 27 which has been moved to engagingposition by reason of the engagement between the trip 25 and the element27 and the continuous rotation of the drum causes this element 27 to bebrought down to such a position as to bring the point 23 firmly intocontact with the towel passing over the drum 9 as shown in dotted lines,and as this latch is beyond center, any pulling movement of the towelmerely causes the towel to be more tightly locked to the drum andprevents further movement thereof.

The user may then freely use the section withdrawn from the apparatusand the apparatus is locked until a second coin is 1nserted in the coinslot. During theoperation apparatus can be clearly understood from theforegoing description of its parts, but the said operation may bebriefly recited as follows:

A coin is inserted in the coin slot 4 and the pivoted lever 5 operated.This depresses the plunger 15 causing the same to engage the coin,shifting the rod 16 which is connected to the shaft 18. The shaft istherefore rocked, lifting the latch bar 23 to the full line position inFigure 1, whereby it is disengaged from the towel. This releases thetowel and the section can be withdrawn rotating the drum 9. The towel iscontinuously withdrawn until this drunr has made two revolutions. Duringone of these revolutions the trip 25 engages the element 26 imparting amovement to the shaft 18 sufficient to move the latch 23 one-half of itsdistance toward its operative position and on the second revolution ofthe drum 9 the trip 25 engages the element 27 and the movement of thiselement causes the latch to be brought down to the full dotted lineposition and into direct contact with the towel, locking the drum 9against further movement. During this movement of the drum 9 the windinroller 7 is being wound so that a previous y used section of the towelis wound on the said roller. The drum 9 will remain locked until asecond coin is inserted in the coin slot and the lever 6 operated torelease the latch 17 from the rum.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim 1s: a

1. In a towel vending machine, the combination with a casing, of adelivery roller therein, a take-up roller disposed within said casingand geared with said delivery roller, a drum around which the towelpasses when being delivered from said delivery roller and coin controlmeansfor controlling the withdrawal of towel sections from said' casingincluding a shaft adjacent said drum, a latch connected with said shaft,means operable through the agency of a coin for shifting said shaft toraise the lever to an inoperative position to permit withdrawal of atowelvsection and means for moving gagement with the towel when apredetermined section has been withdrawn including, a trip carried bythe drum adapted to cooperate with means carried by said shaft to lowerthe latch into binding engagement with the towel and the drum.

2. In a towel vending machine, the combination with a casing, a deliveryroll upon which the towel is placed, a take-up roll geared to saiddelivery roll and adapted to e connected with one end of the towel, adrum around which said towel passes, open, ings in the casing for thepassage of the towel from the casing and back into the easing, coincontrol means for controlling the withdrawal of the towel from saidcesing including a shaft, a latch carried by said shaft, means operativen n the insertion of a coin for shifting t e shaft to raise the same toan ino eretive position to permit a movement 0 the towel around said andmeans for controlling the length of the towel to be withdrawn from theeasing comprising a trip connected with the drum," and successiveelements connectfi with said shaft adapted to he successively operatedupon successive retations of the drum to bring said latch into normal 0eretive relation with the towel and the rum to "lock said towel drewal.

In testimonywhereot l atlix my signature.

against further withee

